The present invention relates to a mobile terminal device including a novel arrayed waveguide display (AWD), a content distribution system, a content distribution method, and a program for executing method thereof
Description of the Prior Art
A portable terminal device having a wide display area and excellent portability is regarded as an ideal form of a mobile terminal. Description will be given for existing portable terminal devices in consideration of uses and portability thereof.
First, the display area of the display screen should be considered as a usage index for the following reasons. For a portable terminal device, an appropriate display area is determined according to a primary use of the portable terminal device. For example, an ordinary portable telephone to be primarily used for voice communication has a display area with a diagonal of approximately two inches. Personal digital assistants (PDAs) having primary functions of schedule management, document creation, and calculation using a spreadsheet have a display area with a diagonal of four to six inches. In this connection, when the terminal device is to be used also as an electronic book, the diagonal will range from seven inches to eight inches.
Second, although volume, weight, successive operation time, and the like can be considered as indices of portability, description will be given primarily of the simplest factor, namely, the volume. To increase the display area, it is naturally necessary to use a large-sized display, and hence a size of the portable terminal device becomes greater. Conversely, when portability is given a preference, the display area becomes smaller. That is, a trade-off exists between the amount of displayed information and the portability in general.
An exceptional example is a portable terminal device including a micro-display in which an image is magnified by a magnifying optical system. In some devices of this type, it is possible to display information equivalent to an extended graphics array (XGA) format with a display having a diagonal of one inch or less. However, to see an image, the user must look into the display as in the case of a viewfinder. It is quite questionable if a user accept this cumbersome usage.
It is therefore an object of the present invention, which has been devised to remove the problem, to provide a mobile terminal device, a content distribution system, a content distribution method, and a program for executing method thereof, the portable terminal device satisfying a requirement of a large display area and a requirement of minimization of the size of the mobile communication terminal device to distribute contents using its advantageous features.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a mobile terminal device, comprising a thin-film AWD (arrayed waveguide display) and a winding device for rolling up the display in a housing and storing the display therein.
The display favorably comprises a light emitting array including a plurality of a light emitting array for emitting light for displaying image by line-by-line basis, a light guiding array for guiding light from one end to the other end through the light guiding array, and light extracting means for extracting the light propagating through the light guiding array from an arbitrarily selected area of the light guiding array.
The light guiding array preferably is made of a material of polymer.
The mobile terminal device favorably further comprises supporting arms of folding type for supporting the display being extended from the housing.
The mobile terminal device preferably further comprises a window through which a partial image of the display is displayed when the display is rolled up in the housing;
further comprises a slit in the housing and a tab disposed at an end of the display for extending the display through the slit; and/or
comprises position detecting device in the vicinity of the slit for detecting a boundary position of the extended display, between an area of the display in the housing and an area thereof outside the housing.
It is preferable that the position detecting device emits light onto a black and white pattern formed on a predetermined area of the display, receives light reflected from the black and white pattern, and detects the boundary position according to the reflected light.
The mobile terminal device preferably comprises control means for controlling the light extracting means and displaying the image only on the area of the display being extended outside the housing, according to a result of the position detection by the position detecting device.
The mobile terminal device favorably comprises an extension unit for connecting a predetermined external device and a storage medium for storing a predetermined content.
It is preferable that the light emitting array is disposed at an end of the display opposing to the end fixedly attached to a central axis of the rolling device.
The housing favorably has a contour of a stick.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a content distribution system, comprising a content server for generating a content and for providing the content via a network; a distributor terminal for downloading the content from the content server; and a mobile terminal device including an AWD for reproducing the content copied into a storage medium at the distributor terminal.
The display preferably comprises a light emitting array including a plurality of light emitting elements for emitting light for displaying image by line-by-line basis, a light guiding array for guiding light from one end to the other end through the light guiding array, and light extracting means for extracting the light propagating through the light guiding array from an arbitrarily selected area of the light guiding array.
It is favorable that the content includes data of a moving picture.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a content distribution method, comprising preferably three following steps as below. The first step is generating a content by content server and providing the content via a network to a distributor terminal. The second step is copying a content, provided by the content server and downloaded by the distributor terminal, onto a storage medium. The third step is reproducing the content copied onto the storage medium by a mobile terminal including the AWD.
The display favorably comprises a light emitting array including a plurality of light emitting elements for emitting light for displaying image by line-by-line basis, a light guiding array for guiding light from one end to the other end through the light guiding array, and light extracting means for extracting the light propagating through the light guiding array from an arbitrarily selected area of the light guiding array.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a program executing the processing that generating a content by content server and providing the content via a network to a distributor terminal; copying a content, provided by the content server and downloaded by the distributor terminal, onto a storage medium; and reproducing the content copied onto the storage medium by a mobile terminal including an AWD (arrayed waveguide display).
The display preferably comprises a light emitting array including a plurality of light emitting elements for emitting light for displaying image by line-by-line basis, a light guiding array for guiding light from one end to the other end through the light guiding array, and light extracting means for extracting the light propagating through the light guiding array from an arbitrarily selected area of the light guiding array.
The content preferably includes data of a moving picture.